Above All Else, Guard You're Heart
by Luna Forest
Summary: The difference between friendship and love is how much you can hurt each other." was the prompt that was given too me and this is what happened.


**Luna here, back from the dead you could say. So this is how it happened, I was just reading some fics and few popped up that they were for a little contest sort of thing for I.heart.hataki.kakashi. So I was like "huh wonder what this is about?" so I go to her profile and here I am, writing a story to her number 7 on the list. And yes this will get depressing.**

_The difference between friendship and love is how much you can hurt each other._

**And without further adieu, my one-shot that might multi chapter.**

**Normal P.O.V.**

Tenten silently walked down the busy market street, weaving in and out of people on automatic. A bump here or there received a quiet "sorry" with a quick glance to see if they fell over. For a regular person, with a quick glance to her forehead protector, they would assume arrogance. Someone who gives her more than a simple glance knew something was wrong. They would know that a real kinochi wouldn't have a glazed over eyes, her mouth a grim line, and the slow yet moving persistence of walk. Yet it only took one girl two seconds to recognize her in her state and intervene.

"Tenten. Hey Tenten, you hear me?" Sakura stopped the weapons mistress with a hand on her shoulder, which caused her to turn around. Tenten saw her, smiled and waved.

"What's up Sakura? Do make it quick I have to get these groceries home." Tenten hefted the bag on her shoulder to make her point. Sakura frowned and startled Tenten by putting a cool green hand on her cheek. Slowly she took it away and looked closer at her hand, then Tenten's face.

"You've been crying." A statement, fact and in deniable the truth that washed Sakura with concern. Tenten immediately stiffened and backed away from her friend with a scowl.

"Look Sakura it's none of your business and if you please excuse me. I have to get home." Tenten spun on her heal and quickly left the area. People quickly stepped out of her path now until she reached her small apartment. Swiftly she locked the door behind her and un-plugged the phone from the wall. Robotically she put away the food as she stared at it. She wasn't going to eat after she saw what she did see.

_Flashback. Time: About 30 minutes ago._

_"Okay so it's been 5 years since we were first put together as a team. And about 3 years ago I realized that I might think of Neji as more than a simple friend and team mate. Then last year when he gave me that real antique samurai sword that could cost and arm and a leg is when I realized he might feel a bit the same. 6 months ago I finally came to the conclusion that I love him. And tonight, with this dinner, I am going to tell him, feed him ice cream and send him off to the compound to think it over like I know he will." Tenten thought as she went over the list of groceries and her mental discoveries in her mind. _

_Sticking the list in her pocket she made her way out of the butcher and back out into the street. Passing by the local coffee shop she noticed the dark haired ninja of her dreams in it. Stopping she was about to wave and slightly make a fool out of herself when __she__ sat down in the opposite chair._

_She would be nothing less than a goddess. Or at least a well paid and sought after model. From the distance Tenten could judge that she was an inch taller than her and with the 2 inch heals she could see over Tenten's head. Yet an inch shorter than Neji's height. The stilettos also made sure that the mid thigh black denim skirt made her legs a mile long. A looser dropping neck cut of the green dress shirt left nothing to the imagination. Her hair was long, lower back and was thick with perfect golden brown curls. _

_Now Tenten wouldn't have minded much (a lot) if Neji was just meeting her for a quick dismissal of a fan girl. A perk of being friends with so long is that you could read their body language very, very well. Neji sat slightly forward with his hands clasped within each other on the table. His head was tilted to the window and the door, as if waiting for someone else. But when his eyes weren't at the door, they were on her and they didn't bore into her head in a plain sign of annoyance, but with a tiny glint of amusement when she started to get animated with her hands telling a story. Many scenarios went through Tenten's mind within seconds, but reason and a heavy heart told her otherwise._

_Neji actually liked this girl and wasn't going to get rid of her anytime soon._

_He proved the theory right by when a hand flew his way he clasped it and laid a gentle kiss on her hand, efficiently making her stutter and blush. All she could hear was her own breathing, all the noise of the market died, instantly. It was when they both seemed to lean in a bit closer is when Tenten realized if her blood could have gone cold on this hot summer day, it would have put the artic to shame. When Neji's lips touched the goddess's, it broke Tenten. All feeling went away to nothingness as a single tear swept down her face. As they pulled away from each other, they both had a small smile on their face; the goddess had a slight blush. _

_"I love you." Tenten lip read the goddess say, then frantically looked to Neji. Time seemed to slow with a sickening seconds._

_"I love you too." Neji said. Tenten felt her inner life drain away and was faintly aware that she was holding her breath and could only hear her heart beat it slow mournful tune. The couple stared at each other for a few seconds before Tenten used all self restraint to walk away from the scene without crying, without bursting into the shop demanding who the whore was. Once she saw Sakura she realized the emotions she saw what she was going to hate the most._

_Concern._

_Tenderness._

_And most of all; Pity._

_Flash back end._

Tenten made simple strides to her room and looked around. With a burst of anger, every single picture frame with him in it was shoved down effectively breaking the glass. Every gift he gave her to her for her birthday or team reunions went into its boxes, wrapped back up in the same paper and shoved into a backpack. The sword and its stand was shoved into its container and put next to the backpack. A quick glance in the mirror showed that her buns were coming out of themselves and her clothes were reminiscent of her training exercises of the morning.

Pulling out the bobby pins and hair ties she let her hair fall all the way down to her middle of her back. Fingers raked through it to make it fall into place as she went to her closet and a change of clothes flew onto her bed. A simple white tank top and black jeans replaced the old cut up pink shirt and navy blue pants. With a quick scoop of the back pack and sword under her arm she made her way out of the small apartment.

Fury boiled in her veins with every leaping step on the rooftops of the village towards the compound. She slowed at the gates and nodded to the guards, who nodded in return. Teammates were always welcome and Tenten had gotten on good terms with them over the years.

"Here to see Neji, Tenten?" said the one on the left. A sweet smile covered her face.

"I'm just here to drop off a few things for him. Neji forgot a few things when we were training a few days ago." Tenten lied as she walked past them. Unknown to her they glanced at each other curiously. Sharing the same thought. "_Since when does Neji forget things?"_

A few minutes later Tenten found the desired room and locked the door behind her. Her first thing that she did was to slam the sword into the middle of the room and drape the necklaces he gave her for her 16th birthday around the hilt. A confession note she had written was tapped on the top of the hilt, with a quick scrawl "_I guess this is useless now"_ in sharp black ink. The Swiss army knife from the 2nd year they were a team went into a picture frame of her and the team, and right through her head. All of the other gifts and rewards went around the sword. Looking around the room Tenten took back her cranes she made for him that was in a jar on top of the dresser. The handmade kunai set she made him went into the other pictures of her or the goddess.

The last picture was of him and the goddess. The frame was thrown against the wall to be picked up from the glass and ripped in half; for target practice obviously. Circling the room Tenten noted that she hit everything and calmly walked out of the room. She passed a few servants and made her way out of the compound. As she neared the gate she noticed the object of her silent furry. She saw the guards talk to Neji, no doubt to say that she was inside. The goddess' face flickered between confusion and the startling smile while Neji's remained impassive.

"I'm over here Neji." She called out, loud enough for them to hear. The couple silently reached her a few minutes later, hand in hand she noted.

"Tenten, this is" Neji started but was quickly stopped with her hand held up.

"I don't want to hear it. I left you a present for our team anniversary in your room. I left it early because I'm going on a mission tomorrow morning. Goodbye." Tenten's voice was cold as ice and so was her reaction to Neji calling her name until she turned around the corner and disappeared. Her legs brought her to the Hokage's office where she promptly requested a high rank multi week mission.

"What brought on this?" Tsunade asked as she drew up the papers.

"I think it was time to test my skills and I need to get out of here for a while." Tenten replied quickly. Tsunade had a small frown on her face but handed over the scroll anyway.

"You're mission is to guard one of the lord's son as he makes his way here from peace treaties with the hidden village of Mist and other hidden villages. He had expressed interest in having a guard who could double as a female companion and not having to use showy jutsus to draw attention to his escort. Yes he has his own guard but he likes to have a closer one just in case something goes, array." Tsunade explained. "You can leave as soon as you would like to. You're dismissed." Tenten bowed and left the room collected her items from her home and plugged the phone back into the wall. After a few seconds of looking at it, she hit the record button.

"Hey everybody you have reached Tenten. I've gone on a B class mission alone, and I don't know when I'm coming back, if I ever come back. Leave a message." The machine repeated the message to her and set itself up to have it ring once and goes straight to the message. Tenten put together some extra memory because if she knew Lee, he would be calling her every day to see if she was home or not. With her pack in hand she walked out the door and looked back into the empty apartment and closed the door with a silent lock.

**Fast forward a year.**

Tenten stood in front of her old doorway and silently mused if the key in her hand would still fit and undo the lock. It slid in perfectly and turned without sticking. The open door let her into her apartment and old life. She dropped her weathered pack and walked through, gaining memories of the last time she stormed out of it. With a tap the answering machine started from the beginning and settled on the couch for a story of a year she was missing. Most of them were from Lee, some from Sakura and Hinata but one made her blood turn cold.

_"Tenten it is Neji. It's been 3 months since you've left. I just wanted to tell you that Yumi and I have gotten married, she's also expecting in 7 months. That's all I have to say."_

Tenten's hearing left until his voice returned again.

"_It's me again, we had a baby girl. We named her Heaven. Come and visit once you get back."_

Tenten silently stood and changed out of her dirty clothes and into a dark blue Chinese dress with silver birds covering it. She brushed out her hair that had now reached her lower back. With the machine still spilling out Lee's voice and rants she left the apartment.

Within 10 minutes she made her way to the compound front doors after jumping the wall undetected. A servant answered the door.

"How can I help you?" She said stiffly.

A soft smile spread on Tenten's face. "I'm here to see Yumi-sama. Just tell her I'm her husband's old teammate from his past." The servant nodded and beckoned her in, sitting in a room for meetings. Tenten sat in silence until the quiet door opened to let her see Yumi.

"I was informed that you were my husband's old teammate. Were you the one that destroyed his room and left him crying in front of that sword? How he still wear that necklace that was around it? The note was burned though, I had to. If he got a glimpse of it he would go silent for a week. He named our baby Heaven after you." Yumi had the said child in her arms as she sat down. Tenten was shocked to see the change. Her once long hair was cut short and messy with worry wrinkles framing her eyes.

"The worst thing is that when he gets hurt or when he sleeps talks he calls to you. That's why I cut my hair short, so he couldn't mistake me for you anymore." Yumi started to bounce the baby who opened its eyes and started to giggle.

"They're brown." Tenten said finally. Heaven reached to her mother who smiled and hugged her a bit tighter.

"It killed him inside because of it. You hurt him deep. I thought in the beginning that I could heal him, but now, I live with that I am not the one who should heal him." She stood. "What do you want to know now Tenten?"

"Is he here right now?" Tenten asked quietly.

"Yes." She looks at the gold watch on her wrist. "He's in his room." She shot her a glance. "He's always in his old room at this time." Tenten stood and went to Yumi. She looked at little Heaven and back at her.

"I once hated you, use the picture as target practice and resented you from the deepest parts of my soul. But by your leave, I would like to see you're husband." Tenten said calmly. Yumi's eyes pierced into Tenten's.

"Say his name."

"Neji. I would like to go see Neji." Tenten said, and with a solemn nod from Yumi, she went on her way. A year past and yet she still knew her way around which amused her slightly. As she neared the door it silently slid open and Neji stepped out and silently closed it behind him. They stood in silence until Neji spoke.

"I thought we were just friends, so I reached out to other contacts that I knew of. Once I started to find out that I looked for quality's that you had, I thought I was just doing a simple comparison to how they should be a stronger ninja or a ninja. Once I found Yumi, it was if she was your clone, but she just wasn't you. I realized that the second I saw the sword in the floor. But as soon as I got to your apartment you were gone." Neji said with his voice rough with emotion.

"As soon as I saw you with Yumi, that day everything in me died. I had to leave to be alive again. I was haunted by your memory daily, hourly, minutely. I startled a few guys to look into their eyes to see if it was really you. But they were always black blue green and brown." Tenten choked back tears as she looked at his frame. As she finished Neji closed the gap between them and picked her up in a fierce hug. She hesitantly hugged back.

"I never thought this could have hurt so much." Tenten whispered into his chest.

"Me too." Neji said to her hair. They missed the "Me three" from around the corner with a quiet baby gurgle.

* * *

**Luna: well ****that ****was more depressing than what I thought I could write. And 6 pages later and almost 2 days I have surprised myself with something I don't want to hack into little pieces and re-do or re-edit. Just say if I should have. All part of the contest/challenge from I.heart.hataki.kakashi! You should click the review button and then check out her profile.**

**Until the next writing burst that I have, I bid you good day.**


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